Finance
Expanding trade opportunities in developing economies through enhanced finance solutions
As we sail through the choppy waters of global trade in 2024, we find ourselves in a world transformed by both financial and geopolitical shifts. The ongoing conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Middle East tensions, and the ever-fluctuating oil prices, are reshaping our global economic landscape, impacting everything from energy markets to the financial stability of nations.
Amidst this, the global trade finance gap has notably widened, reaching a staggering $2.5 trillion in 2022, up from $1.7 trillion in 2020, as per the Asian Development Bank’s report.
The global trade landscape, particularly in developing regions such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, stands at a critical crossroads. Trade financing has emerged as a pivotal force, potentially reshaping the future of international commerce.
Over the past decade, these regions have faced numerous challenges hindering trade growth, including fluctuating commodity prices, fierce competition, scarcity of foreign exchange liquidity, regulatory barriers, and constrained access to trade finance. Despite these hurdles, trade continues to be a cornerstone for the social and economic advancement of developing economies.
The state of trade finance across developing regions
The trade finance market in developing regions has seen a decline in bank participation rates, largely due to risk aversion and stringent regulatory demands. For instance, Africa’s trade finance gap averaged around $91 billion between 2011 and 2019, a situation mirrored in other developing areas, albeit with regional variances.
The COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these challenges, disrupting supply-demand dynamics across continents. Institutions like the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and their counterparts in other regions are spearheading initiatives to mitigate these gaps and foster intra-regional trade.
Trade finance for SMEs
For SMEs, navigating the global market is made feasible through the essential support of trade finance. This financial framework, representing about 3% of global trade or roughly $3 trillion annually, offers a variety of instruments such as purchase order finance and letters of credit.
These tools are pivotal in helping SMEs manage risks, improve cash flow, grow their operations, and fulfil larger contracts. Such financial support is a cornerstone for economic development, ensuring the continuity of credit flow within international supply chains.
Additionally, addressing the need for a flexible and responsive trade finance ecosystem, collaborative efforts between governments, international bodies, and the private sector are underway. One initiative is the Global Trade Liquidity Program, a partnership between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and over 30 international banks, aimed at increasing liquidity in the trade finance market.
This program exemplifies practical steps toward enhancing the capacity of trade finance to support SMEs and stimulate economic development in vulnerable regions.
Enhancing intra-regional trade through trade finance
In developing regions, trade finance plays a pivotal role in enhancing intra-regional trade. It addresses the typical financial challenges that businesses in these regions face, such as limited access to credit and high risks associated with international transactions. Trade finance instruments like letters of credit and trade credit insurance provide a safety net for businesses, encouraging them to engage in cross-border trade within the region.
The impact of trade finance is significant in developing economies, where it can lead to increased trade volumes, economic growth, and regional integration. By providing the necessary financial support, trade finance helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in these regions overcome liquidity constraints, enabling them to participate more actively in the regional market.
Furthermore, trade finance initiatives often come with capacity-building components that enhance the trade infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, further facilitating intra-regional trade.
Initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched in 2021, aim to bolster intra-African trade by streamlining transport infrastructure, cutting through bureaucratic red tape, and boosting funding and liquidity.
Similar initiatives in other developing regions seek to diversify economies, enhance production capacities, and broaden product ranges. Integrating neighbouring economies could foster scale and competitiveness, promoting development and attracting foreign investment.
Case study: M-Pesa
Digitalisation and innovation are transforming the landscape of trade finance in developing regions. The integration of technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics into trade finance processes is making transactions more efficient, transparent, and secure.
Blockchain technology, for example, is being used to create immutable and transparent records of transactions, reducing the likelihood of fraud, and enhancing trust among trade partners. Digital platforms are also streamlining the process of applying for and managing trade finance products, making it more accessible to SMEs.
Furthermore, the digitalisation of trade documents and the use of electronic signatures are speeding up the transaction process, reducing the time and cost involved in cross-border trade. This is particularly beneficial for developing regions where traditional trade finance processes can be slow and cumbersome.
To further illuminate the impact of digitalisation and innovation in trade finance, consider the case study of Kenya’s M-Pesa system.
M-Pesa revolutionised mobile banking and payments in Kenya, significantly improving SMEs’ access to finance and market participation. This example shows the potential for similar digital financial solutions to bridge the global trade finance gap by offering secure, accessible, and efficient transaction platforms.
Navigating the future of trade finance in developing regions
As the trade finance sector enters a dynamic new phase, the focus is on innovative solutions and the involvement of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to spur growth. Despite geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, there’s a palpable sense of optimism about digitalisation, financial inclusion, and the supportive role of DFIs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) data indicates a surge in exports from developing regions, highlighting a resurgence in trade activities.
Developing regions face a complex set of challenges in their trade finance landscapes, but ongoing efforts in digitalisation, policy reforms, and DFI support offer a hopeful outlook.
Bridging the trade finance gap and harnessing innovative solutions are essential for unleashing the trade potential of these economies. Such efforts are key to driving economic growth and fostering sustainable development, ensuring that trade continues to serve as a vital engine for social and economic progress across developing regions.
As we look ahead, the focus should be on creating a trade finance ecosystem that is agile, responsive, and attuned to the evolving needs of a diverse global economy. This journey isn’t just about moving money; it’s about building resilience, fostering inclusivity, and ensuring sustainable growth.
On the other hand, companies in countries with high risks should explore setting up operations in regional markets. This would enable them to have greater access to trade finance as well as non-conventional financing solutions.
Additionally, traditional regional suppliers are more flexible in working with companies based in such regional locations. Companies should also focus on attracting and retaining the right talent. Talents who are equipped with relevant expertise in relationships with customers in demand markets, key suppliers, and access to financial institutions are essential. Such expertise reduces the chances of failure and further accelerates the growth journey.
DULUTH — The Duluth Homegrown Music Festival is seeking both new operational leadership and a solution to financial filing issues that caused the organization to lose its federal tax-exempt status, which it has not held since 2022.
The organization is currently operating as a taxable nonprofit, confirmed Don Ness, the former Duluth mayor who serves as president of Homegrown’s
board of directors.
Ness and the board are working to discern whether there might be any outstanding tax liabilities in the wake of an apparent filing lapse.
“It’s a serious matter that requires diligence to do things right, and to correct past oversight, and to make sure that we are in full compliance with all tax and regulatory requirements,” Ness said. “The board is 100% committed to that course of action.”
As the Duluth Monitor first reported, Homegrown had its federal tax-exempt status revoked in 2022 after failing to make required financial reports for three years. The Monitor also reported that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office has notified the organization it may be in violation of state law requiring the proper registration of soliciting charities.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
“All but one of us have been on for less than a year,” Ness said of the current board members. “We’ve been committed to saying, ‘hey, we need to improve the points of accountability.’”
The organization will also require new operational leadership. Co-directors Cory Jezierski and Dereck Murphy-Williams resigned earlier this month, after leading Homegrown through four successful festivals.
“My contract ended at the end of May, and I knew a few days later that I did not want to continue in that position,” Jezierski said. “Simply put, it was the best thing for my mental health. It’s a job that requires many, many hours and a lot of work, and it can be very stressful as well.”
Amy Arntson / Duluth Media Group file photo
Murphy-Williams did not respond to an interview request for this article, nor did preceding Homegrown director Melissa LaTour. According to LaTour’s
LinkedIn profile,
she was Homegrown director from 2016 to 2022.
Jason Beckman, a recent president who is no longer serving on the board, responded to a News Tribune email but did not provide an interview availability before this article went to press.
Ness does not believe the reporting lapses were due to any ill intent. He praised Jezierski and Murphy-Williams for their success managing festival operations. “They cared deeply about the festival,” he said. “It’s amazing to see that our community continues to support this really unique and special festival.”
“Those guys run a hell of a festival,” said Scott Lunt, festival founder and a current board member. “I think they needed help with bookkeeping.”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
By Jezierski’s account, issues with the festival’s tax status became apparent shortly after he became co-director. “We went to file taxes, they were rejected,” Jezierski said. “At that time we, of course, didn’t know why right away, but once we started pulling on that thread, we unraveled a whole lot of the problems that were going on.”
Jezierski said “it took a long time to try to get any sort of help” from the board, but said that by the time he and Murphy-Williams left the organization, “everything had been turned over to be reconciled” with a financial professional.
Ness, like Lunt, was deeply involved with Homegrown in its first decade but had not had an official role with the festival since then. After launching the festival in 1999 and running it on his own for several years, Lunt was “burnt out,” Ness remembered.
Derek Montgomery / Duluth Media Group file photo
After a transition period during which the festival was run in partnership with the Ripsaw newspaper, Homegrown established a nonprofit organization in 2006 with Ness as festival director. Ness subsequently stepped down when he was elected mayor in 2007.
By 2025, Ness was in his current position as executive director of the Ordean Foundation.
“I was approached by a couple of longtime music scenesters,” Ness recalled. “They said, ‘There are questions about (Homegrown’s) nonprofit status. There are questions about some governance issues. We’re concerned.’”
Ness agreed to join the board, and became president. The 2026 festival ran smoothly from an operational standpoint, but Ness found the financial reporting to be lacking.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
“The last board meeting that we had prior to the (co-directors’) resignations was intended to be an overview of the festival that was a month before,” Ness said. “I certainly felt very uncomfortable with how little financial information we were receiving.”
Lunt also joined the board in 2025, marking his first time serving in that capacity. He said the new board has been spending significant time addressing the accounting and reporting issues.
“Every year at Homegrown time I’m like, ‘I should get more involved,’ and then I don’t,” Lunt said. “Then this board thing came up, and it was kind of sold to me as, like, four meetings a year. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s perfect.’ And now we’re meeting weekly.”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
Although it’s unclear how the organization’s finances will look when the accounting and reporting issues have been fully addressed, along with any outstanding tax liabilities, both Ness and Lunt said they are confident the annual festival will continue without interruption.
“The organization will continue,” Ness said. “The festival will continue. Homegrown is in no danger in terms of its viability.” The financial documentation Ness initially received indicated budgeted revenues of about $140,000, against about $130,000 in expenses.
“Financially, I think we’re in a great spot. We have the money to hire the (financial) professionals, and we have (done so),” Lunt said. “We were hoping that we could get all this sorted out before it had to become more public.”
“We poured countless hours into this festival, and this is how it ends, with everyone talking about this,” Jezierski said. “It’s rough.”
“There’s a DIY ethos that is really at the core of Homegrown,” reflected Ness. “We’re throwing a music festival that isn’t waiting for some famous band from the East Coast to bless us with their presence. We are doing this on our own.”
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
That DIY spirit also means “you’re kind of passing wisdom down from person to person, and sometimes that’s imperfect.” Ness continued. “The ways that we do things evolve over time, because it’s not a buttoned-down corporate sort of thing. That can create its own set of challenges.”
“It’s self-supporting,” said Lunt about the festival. “It’s widely volunteer-run. You do need to pay a couple people, obviously, to keep track of some things, but it’s going to be strong into the future. It’s gone through its bumps before.”
While most AI in financial services remains advisory, LUMIQ has built the layer that owns the decision — autonomous, auditable AI agents making regulated calls in production at leading banks, insurers, and capital markets firms. Today, LUMIQ serves clients across India, the United States, and Southeast Asia — leading institutions across insurance, banking, and capital markets.
NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LUMIQ, an AI-native financial services company, today announced a strategic funding round to scale auto-decisioning for financial institutions across the United States and Southeast Asia. The round was led by Bajaj Finserv, one of India’s largest and most diversified financial services groups, with participation from existing investor Info Edge Ventures.
Right now, thousands of customers are waiting for a policy to be issued, a loan to be disbursed, a claim to be adjudicated, because somewhere an FSI employee is drowning in decisions, held back by the risk of getting it wrong. Today, when e-commerce delivers the same day, banks and insurers still decide in weeks. We built LiteCone to take that burden: AI decides the routine cases, completely and accountably, so humans spend their judgment on the one case that actually needs it. This round lets us bring that to every financial institution in the markets that matter most.
Shoaib Mohammad, Co-founder and CEO, LUMIQ
From AI that assists to AI that decides
For decades, financial institutions have bought technology that made their people faster — faster data, faster scoring, faster copilots. The decision still landed on a human. LUMIQ is changing that. Through its LiteCone platform, the company deploys AI agents that read the file, apply the institution’s own guidelines, and reach the decision end to end — escalating only the cases that genuinely require human judgment. The output is not a recommendation. It is a decision, with full reasoning attached, cross-referenced to policy, and defensible under audit.
The results in production speak clearly. At a leading life insurer, LUMIQ’s LEO agent decides 75–80% of underwriting cases with zero human touch, reduced policy issuance cost by roughly 25%, and compressed turnaround from days to under eight minutes — running 24×7 with complete auditability. Across its client base spanning insurance, banking, and capital markets in India, the US, and Southeast Asia, LUMIQ now processes millions of decisions annually.
LiteCone turns a real financial-services role into a working AI agent in weeks. Every agent we deploy is consistent, explainable, compliant, and auditable by design — not as an afterthought. This capital lets us go deeper on the platform and broader across roles. And through our cloud and AI lab partnerships, institutions will increasingly find LiteCone already embedded in the platforms they run today.
Vaibhav Dobriyal, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, LUMIQ
Consumer confidence has plunged among traditionally optimistic younger adults amid fears for their personal finances and the wider economy, figures show.
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index remained unchanged at an overall score of minus 23 in June.
However, the analyst said this was was “misleading as, beneath the surface, there are new signs that confidence is weakening”.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said: “The biggest fall this month is among those aged 16 to 29, traditionally one of the most optimistic groups.
“Here confidence has dropped 11 points over the past month to minus two, the lowest level seen for two years, driven by large falls in views on both their own personal finances and the wider economy.
“More broadly, there are now no demographic groups with a positive confidence score, including higher-income households earning £50,000 or more, who have slipped back into negative territory as of June.
“Confidence remains subdued and vulnerable to further economic or political uncertainty.”
Overall, confidence in personal finances over the coming year remained flat at minus two, four points lower than this time last year.
The measures of both personal finances and the economy over the previous 12 months were both slightly down, by two points and three points respectively, “reflecting the sense that things have been extremely tough over the last year for so many”, GfK said.
The only measure to increase was expectations for the wider economy over the next 12 months, up two points to minus 36 but still eight points below this time last year.
The major purchase index, an indicator of confidence in buying big ticket items, remained at minus 20, four points lower than June last year.
-
Wyoming2 minutes agoGordon hosts panel on New World screwworm; no outbreaks in Wyoming
-
Crypto5 minutes agoBest Crypto Recovery Law Firms in 2026: Leading Cryptocurrency Lawyers for Asset Recovery, Fraud Investigations and Digital Asset Disputes
-
Finance10 minutes agoHomegrown Music Festival looks to right finances, hire new leadership
-
Fitness17 minutes agoWhy this unexpected exercise is most effective for building arm muscle in your 50s – and how to do it properly
-
Movie Reviews25 minutes agoThe Beautifully Handcrafted Rose of Nevada Is a Ghost Story Like No Other
-
World35 minutes agoOn the South Lawn, a UFC fighter’s victory frames an unusual White House scene
-
Politics47 minutes agoVideo: Demining the Strait of Hormuz
-
Health1 hour agoVideo: Wii Bowling Takes Over Tulsa Retirement Homes
